Captain Jamaal Lascelles declared himself “very proud” of his Newcastle United side after they extended their winning run to nine straight matches with a “professional” 2-0 victory over Leeds United.

A brace from Dwight Gayle - who had caught the pre-match headlines after allegedly receiving a punch on a night out the previous weekend - at Elland Road handed Rafa Benitez’s men an eighth successive league victory and saw the Magpies extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.

What’s more, Newcastle are now nine points ahead of the play-off places, and 14 ahead of Leeds in seventh.

“I am very proud - it was a tough game and I knew what we were going to face here,” skipper Lascelles said.

“There was a lot of build-up around this game and it’s probably bigger than others in that sense.